In the field of earth rock drilling, completion, and servicing, for example to produce oil and/or gas from a subterranean reservoir, the term “tubular” is often used to describe the various pipes. The Schlumberger® Oilfield Glossary at http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com describes “tubular” as a generic term pertaining to any type of oilfield pipe, such as drill pipe, drill collars, pup joints, casing, production tubing and pipeline. The related term “connection” is described as any threaded or nonthreaded union or joint that connects two tubular components. The present disclosure relates to threaded connectors/connections for tubulars.
A wide variety of threaded connections are available for tubulars, which may be general purpose connections or premium threaded connections, depending on the operating conditions.
One general purpose threaded connection is NC46, in accordance with American Petroleum Institute (API) 7-1, Specification for Rotary Drill Stem Elements and API 7-2, Specification for Threading and Gauging of Rotary Shouldered Thread Connections. A tubular/threaded connection meeting the NC46 standard will meet a number of technical specifications in terms of dimensions and operating parameters.
General purpose tubulars have been around for years, but as wellbore operations have evolved, higher demands are placed tubulars and connections. Tubulars can be subjected to high temperatures and pressures and other extreme operating conditions, such as high torsional strength, for example in horizontal drilling or hydraulic fracturing operations, and often tubulars having premium threaded connections are required or preferred.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a premium threaded connector and method for making the premium threaded connector.